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Topic: Will your collecting habits change? (Read 7273 times)

After SDCC, and C6, and seeing what new product Hasbro has on the horizon, I can say that for the first time since 1995, I will not be buying the next line of figures. I just can't get behind the Droid Factory character choices, as they seem to all be resculpts. I just can't do it anymore, as much as I'd like to make the new droids. Granted, I may buy one ore two (I like that Pablo Jill type Jedi) but that's about it. I'm also done with The Clone Wars line, even though I would support that with great enthusiasm if there were a wide selection of characters. (Season 4 was a goldmine of coolness...)

That being said, I'm looking at next year, and I have decided to put some money into displays, and instead of wasting time looking for stuff, I will sort and organize what I have. I'm really excited to do this, and this downtime seems like a great opportunity. Maybe in the fall of 2013, when AOTC and ROTS hit the big screen again some cool product might show up, I'll jump right back in, but for now, I'm outta here! (Not here, as in these forums, because this is still fun, but "outta here" as in I'm not buying anything anymore because I have it all and...oh, you get what I mean.)

I just can't get behind the Droid Factory character choices, as they seem to all be resculpts.

Redundancy is the theme for 2013 and yeah, I feel the same way. Vintage was fun while it lasted, and had a good run, IMO. I collected 39 TVC figures in all. And as far as Clone Wars is concerned (a series I absolutely hate, btw), to date, I've only collected 1 figure. That's it. And with Movie Heroes, 1 as well. Will my collecting habits change? Well, I've scaled back for some time now, and will continue to do so given the choices for figures in 2013 revealed thus far. There's only so many frickin Obi-Wans, Anakins, Vaders, Clone Troopers, Battle Droids, etc. I can take. In fact, I'm completely baffled as to why there are still collectors out there that continue to buy everything. I mean, do people really need 30 Obi-Wan figures in their collection? To each their own, I guess. I love being picky and selective about what I buy though, and my wallet loves it too.

I'm hashing out a lot of things these days, and what I'm doing for 2013 is among them... I want to collect. I'm happy with the choices (I like the realistic CW enough that they have me sort of giddy, and the rest I'm ok with but I'd like to see a slightly better showing for the next wave or 2).

I just need to sort some things out... Life's gotten in the way for me of late.

I just can't get behind the Droid Factory character choices, as they seem to all be resculpts

Well, to be honest, unless the figures are EU, CW, Cliegg Lars, Tonnika Sisters, Torryn Farr, Sim Aloo, Sgt. Doallyn, or a miniscule handful of other characters, everything from here on out is going to be a resculpt, right? That's just the way of things at this point, after 17 years of the modern line (wow, that sounds like a long time). That said, I definitely agree that the first couple waves are pretty boring, even for resculpts. But I've pretty much accepted that the final 8(?) years of Hasbro's SW figures are going to be 90% or more resculpts. Even so, I'll probably be buying them all, just to stay complete. No point stopping now, when I'm (hopefully) more than 2/3rds of the way through the line!

Force Guy, why do you hate The Clone Wars? Have you seen it recently? While there are some bummer episodes (like all TV) I think that when it's on its "A" game, it comes closer to the spirit of the OT than the prequels ever did. It can be exciting, funny, and thoughtful.

Spirit Of Mace, I agree with what you are saying about most of it being resculpts. I understand that and have accepted it. However, I can think of many, many figures from the films that have not been done. And I think that making a wave that does not have at least one never before made character is a slap in the face to the die-hards. It creates zero excitement.

And what I don't really understand is the need to resculpt. Lets say Hasbro wants to release an ANH wave. Let's say they want to put out eight figures in this wave. They already have excellent sculpts of Luke, Han, Chewie, Vader, Stormtrooper and R2. They don't need to spend a dime on them. Then make two new characters, such as one of the guys who is with Jabba in Docking Bay 94, and perhaps an Imperial officer with the white top. Families and kids would buy the first six, collectors would grab the last two. I just can't see why this sort of system couldn't work.

I never could get into the Clone Wars because to me, it looks like an animated video game sequence. There's some cool designs and all, but ever since this came into play, collecting hasn't been as fun for me. I am not dreading the end of the series one bit.

That being said, most of what I've seen from the 2013 offerings seems like more of the same - heavy on repacks and slight retooling, with a few cool figures here and there. Cutting corners when they can with the collector line (like not investing in new tooling for Phase 2 clone helmets), and definitely with the kids line in many aspects.

I have bought a little bit less each year anyway, but with life changes (2 kids now), I need to scale back regardless. Hasbro putting less of an investment to reach collectors like me just makes it easier to spend less on their product. They really aren't working harder like they used to for our dollars, which doesn't bother me as much as it would have 5-6 years ago.

My collecting habits have changed, but that's mostly due to figures being hard to find and the price increases (yes, living in Manhattan doesn't help). Plus, I have two little kids and a wife who doesn't approve of the hobby (which can get to be a tiring battle). Lately I have been buying cases or figures on line... paying a little extra for the figure but saving on all the transit costs to hope to find something. Because of this, I've been passing on prequel figures, EU and CW because the OT is my passion. But, yes, the new Legacy figures Hasbro has shown us lack excitement, as Mike said. Do I need a screen specific Vader? Not really. Do I need another Biggs or a Yavin Luke (I know he comes with the right blaster, but I can't justify another $10 just for the blaster...)?

I agree with Mike that they have some excellent sculpts out there of existing characters and they just need to rotate those in. A few main characters, an army builder or two and a few new ones.

Speaking of the excellent sculpts is there a definitive list of which is the best sculpt and Hasbro doesn't need to make improvements on them?

I both love and hate the build a droid line for most of all the same reasons many have all restated. Too many resculpts (hate), and cool droids like Jabba's palace droid and Dooku's droid (love both). So I am at a crossroads as to what I am going to do.

Wave 1 - - Arena Padme - very nice - definite buy- Rockets R2 - bleh could easily do without- Ep2 Anakin - cannot find any good pics on JD of him, iirc his headsculpt did look nice plus he had upgrades in articulation - 50/50 on him- Ep2 Clone SGT - boring could easily do without- Geonosian Warrior - boring could easily do without- Luminara - does she have any upgrades in the articulation department? I am 50/50 on her but she probably goes in the unnecessary camp- Biker Scout - could do with out since we are getting the TRU set- TIE Pilot (Vader's Wingman) - not too excited over but it makes some sense as a "new" character I guess - buy- RED Battle Droid - boring could easily do without- Sandtrooper (Black Pauldron) - pretty cool looking at SDCC on display - buy- Pablo Jill - awesome, I never did get the first version - buy- 212th Clone (on VC45 body) - boring could easily do without

BADs = TC-70 & FA-4

So, in order to get the droids that look awesome I have to buy at least 6 figures I really have zero interest in... Awesome... I guess I could maybe be hopeful of a revision wave that subs out crappy figures I have no interest in maybe for some cool figures from TVC? Probably not though, since I will by that point have all that I really need from TVC.

So I only am really digging 3 of the 8 figures, and I only care for one of the droids. My luck of course is that the figures I do want from this wave will not match up with the droid I am wanting. And what will Hasbro do with the other 4 slots for this? Probably fill them with figures I don't want from wave 1....

Well, to be honest, unless the figures are EU, CW, Cliegg Lars, Tonnika Sisters, Torryn Farr, Sim Aloo, Sgt. Doallyn, or a miniscule handful of other characters, everything from here on out is going to be a resculpt, right?

There's still a wealth of characters, from the OT, PT, and heck, even EU that Hasbro could make before pumping out yet another Obi-Wan figure, another frickin Clone Trooper, etc. Oh, but wait, this Obi-Wan is different because his face has a smirk. Or that Clone Trooper is different because his groin is articulated. It's ridiculous.

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Even so, I'll probably be buying them all, just to stay complete. No point stopping now, when I'm (hopefully) more than 2/3rds of the way through the line!

So let me get this straight: your criteria for buying figures is that it simply has to have a Star Wars logo stamped on it, yes? I guess having the buying habits of an automaton makes life more simple in the sense that you don't really need to expend any thought whatsoever in your purchases.

Smash... don't get too worried yet about not getting that BAD because you might be able to trade for pieces later. Maybe Hasbro will continue with the droid trading place at later Celebrations if you are attending (or someone you know).

Smash... don't get too worried yet about not getting that BAD because you might be able to trade for pieces later. Maybe Hasbro will continue with the droid trading place at later Celebrations if you are attending (or someone you know).

true, plus I was already thinking/hoping some of the asian ebayers might sell them

So let me get this straight: your criteria for buying figures is that it simply has to have a Star Wars logo stamped on it, yes? I guess having the buying habits of an automaton makes life more simple in the sense that you don't really need to expend any thought whatsoever in your purchases.

So because he is a completist and has made the choice to collect in that fashion, he is an automaton? I'm sorry, I don't agree with the logic you're using to make that connection.

Getting one of every figure made is just as much a collecting choice as it is to say you collect OT-based figures only or only Dark Side characters.

Logged

Peter

Letting my collecting OCD get the better of me on a DAILY basis... and loving EVERY minute of it!

My collecting habit is going to continue to be right where it has been...only collecting what I feel like.

Just looking at that first wave of BAD, I'm probably only getting Arena Padme, Luminara (if she's a significant upgrade from the ROTS version) and maybe Pablo Jill. Three figures, followed by Mara Jade certainly looks like a slim beginning to the year.

I figure this will be a good time to work on the displays, pick up bits and pieces here and there (like the two Cloud cars I want to get), and buy a new TV.

So because he is a completist and has made the choice to collect in that fashion, he is an automaton?

Pretty much, yes. When someone is a completist, they buy everything. There is no discretion exercised, no deliberation, no judgement. It's simply the purchase of anything stamped with a Star Wars logo. That sounds very robotic to me. Remember Mikey from the Life cereal commercials? Like that....like Mikey....he'll eat anything.

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I'm sorry, I don't agree with the logic you're using to make that connection.

Well, we can agree to disagree then.

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Getting one of every figure made is just as much a collecting choice as it is to say you collect OT-based figures only or only Dark Side characters.

It's a "choice" that completists are fueled by their obligation and compulsion of buying everything, including garbage, gimmicks, rehash after rehash, resculpt after resculpt, etc.? Sure. When Hasbro releases an exclusive figure of George Lucas molded by a collection of belly-button lint, regardless of how absurd the idea would be, I'm sure completists will exercise their "choice" too, by feeling the need to add it to their collection immediately.

Force Guy, why do you hate The Clone Wars? Have you seen it recently? While there are some bummer episodes (like all TV) I think that when it's on its "A" game, it comes closer to the spirit of the OT than the prequels ever did. It can be exciting, funny, and thoughtful.

Personally, I hate when non-canonical material rewrites the established Star Wars history. As it is, the PT already does that. With Clone Wars, it does this on a much larger scale, IMO. I just don't care for the series at all.